Factions
'AAA-Rated Phyla' 'Amazonia' ''' '''Capital: '''Manaus (03°06′0″S 60°01′0″W) '''Population: '''185 million '''Values: '''Environmentalism, Isolationism, Centralization, Cultural Ambiguity, Secrecy '''Description: '''Today Amazonia is perhaps the most isolationist of the major phyles and certainly the most isolationist of the triple-A rated phyles. Its primary territorial holdings are in the Amazon drainage basin but it also has established itself in the Yucatan, parts of Africa, especially former national parks, and in Asia, again taking stewardship of the most wild and remote jungle areas. It and Lei Feng are the two most territorially-minded phyles, and probably the ones who patrol what borders they manage to define. Though originally organized around a democratic militant environmentalist movement, as it developed and as it engaged in full-scale shadow warfare with Atlas America and Larrain-Alfa, its leadership became more centralized and secretive, its structure more hierarchical and segregated. Despite Amazonia’s leadership’s opacity and willingness to use violence, they remained primarily committed to the protection and stewardship of earth’s wild places, endangered species, and of the atmosphere. As the effects of environmental pollution became increasingly evident in the mid 21st century, their message became increasingly popular and environmentally-minded people, as well as the growing enviro-spiritual movement known as the ‘Garden’, from across the globe flocked to their banner, opening chapters in far flung locales and flooding former northern Brazil with their particularly militant-brand of environmental idealism. Despite their care for the wilds, these idealists had much less concern for the poor local humans of many of the areas they sought to protect, of their necessary logging and farming operations that kept their families fed. Acts of intimidation and violence, and a lack of state response to these finally forced many, primarily Brazilian, poor out of the Amazonian territories- usually to the Chavis phyle. They had even less concern for the wealthier citizenry and fought ongoing low-grade resistance and terrorist movement against the private security contractors of Larrain-Alfa, Qeng Ho, and Atlas America- who primarily only sought to protect their citizen-employees from the intimidation tactics of the Amazonians seeking to ‘purify’ the ‘sacred forests’. Ultimately the Amazonians were largely successful; they were willing to adopt any technology (especially bioweapons), to use increasingly brutal tactics (terrorism campaigns of all sorts), and to accept and absorb losses and attrition. Meanwhile their enemy was primarily concerned with the effect of the shadow-war on their budget. The outcome was inevitable. By the mid 2070s, the phyle was secure, its territory continuous and relatively secure. By the early 2080s Amazonia was ready to recreate itself, to join the ranks of responsible phyles that would sign the Consensus accord. They paid restitution to their former enemies, signed peace-agreements, and began the process of moving from a militant organization to an environmentally minded government. They found ways to commercialize their jungles without hurting them, investing heavily in gene-mining and developing some of the most advanced pharmaceutical and bio-medical industries worldwide, and becoming leaders in developing environmentally sensitive reverse electro-dialysis and micro-hydroelectric power generation. Today Amazonia is home primarily to environmental idealists of all nations and cultures, who over time, have created their own culture, a hybrid of their parents’ cultures and something unique onto themselves. Many are followers of the enviro-religious, enviro-spiritual movement known as ‘Garden’. Its leadership continues to be secretive, highly layered, and generally inaccessible as well as retaining a military quality that occasionally makes other phyles anxious. The nation is modern and a leader in biology, especially environmental biology/systems ecology, and has applied its knowledge of complex biological systems to understanding the brain, making it a forerunner in that field as well. Amazonia has a well-developed military program, with well-trained soldiers enhanced with a wider variety of genes and biotech than any other phyle, but lags behind in robotics and nooiome security. Its elite ‘Oncilla’ forces, recognizable by their retractable claws, use pscyhofeedback trance in addition to a truly impressive array of genegineering modifications to establish itself as one of the premiere fighting forces on the planet. Its space program is limited to satellite launch capacity, though it is involved in exploration and colonization of terrestrial oceans (though, unlike Puszcza Wynd, with no permanent habitats). '''Projects: Elevated rholev trains: 'In an effort to avoid interfering with the territories or migration of wildlife, the Amazonians have invested in elevating thier rholev system. Hung from pistes 40 to 80 feet above the ground, in many places the Amazonian public transport system speeds through the jungle canopy. ''(increases civil infrastructure maintenance costs) '''Apauruṣeya Capital: '''New Delhi (28°36′50″N 77°12′32″E) '''Population: 1.42 billion Values: ''' Indian culture, Progressive Hinduism, Education, Family, Space exploration and colonization '''Description: : point form for greater development at a later date: -evolved from the Indian government adopting a phyle organizational structure- an early convert to the new system- they were lucky in that it didn’t involve civil conflict. Took on Hinduism, as a CULTURAL and NOT necessarily religious ‘brand’ and now use Hindu myths and stories as a sort of cultural short-hand (naming conventions, product labels, etc). That said, they are primarily Hindu- with most Muslim Indians having joined the Ummah Al Salaam. -developed a number of really large enclaves where indian diaspora were significant- see map when I publish it. -while they have maintained a free-market, capitalist economy, they have been forced to bend in the face of global public resentment against capitalism to levy wide-scale income and property taxation and develop a number of social programs- something like 2010s Scandinavian or north-European ‘social capitalist’ nations. Importantly property ownership and capital-based development remains as it always has - its just that the government practices a greater degree of economic redistribution then it has historically. -have really pushed energy development and space exploration in the last 2-3 decades, establishing the first and largest colony on Luna and developing a thriving lunar H3-fusion based energy industry- with Apauruṣeya-run fusion plants springing up throughout the world- in support of every Phyle. They have also mapped significant portions of the Mars landscape through direct manned missions to the Red Planet and the - has a history of long term good relations with Qeng Ho, New Atlantis, and to a lesser extent the Ummah Al Salaam and Atlas America. -assisted the New Atlanteans in recovering London from Deus in 2089-91, providing 1) aerospace support for the delivery of a New Atlantian drop infantry and eventualy, in the last years of the war, suborbital nuclear explosion in high atmosphere over London, and 2) provided nooiome cybercombat-support to New Atlantian hackers trying to retake London metanode. You are still in the process of recovering from the attrition of that support you provided to your ally. -In exchange the New Atlanteans had promised to assist Apauruṣeya in developing their own molecular compiler. New Atlantis is one year overdue in providing this support. -remind me to send you a private message regarding the 951 Gaspra project. Also, feel free to write this up properly if you want to SouthernKing, but hopefully this gives you an idea of what I am thinking about when I discuss Apauruṣeya. Projects: Kshupakara Lunar Mining Colony: ' Extensive H3- mining operation at Luna's south pole, the Kshupakara lunar colony can maintain 111 astronauts on a permanent basis. Twice per year the base exports fusion reactor fuel via lunar shuttle ''(increases costs to space budget, generates energy) '951 Gaspra: '''A secretive project involving a 18km long asteroid in the inner asteroid belt, the first phase of this project is due to complete in November 2094. ''(no costs/effects at present) '''Atlas America Capital: Minneapolis (44°59′N 93°16′W) Population: ''' 258 million '''Values: American culture, Materialism, Free-Market Capitalism, Counter-socialist reactionarism, Centralization Description: By the 2050s JPMorgan Chase had grown to be (by absorbing Ford, Boeing, Johnson and Johnson, Cargill, Scoular, and others) one of the eight transnational corporate conglomerates who's resources and influence shaped countries and could compete directly with the interests of first world nations. The American civil war of 2061 saw JP and the US government on the losing side of the conflict, its legal rights and privileges, hard won in the wake of the Chinese-US affairs of the 2040s unraveled, many of its assets under threat of nationalization by the new socialist white house. Seeing themselves as the last bastions of American culture, of values like capitalism and free market and the American dream itself, JP withdrew to lick its wounds, rebranded itself as Atlas America (for who else would bear the weight of the people’s treachery) and reorganized itself along the lines of the new phyla that were beginning to take shape. Quick to sign the Consensus agreement in 2062, Atlas America had won enough legal and political recognition on the world stage, that, together with its still formidable military, it had placed itself and its still very formidable territories beyond the reach of the United Socialist Peoples (as the new USA was rebranding itself- now also a phyle). Since the events of 2062, Atlas America continues to see itself as the champions of American culture, of the values of hard work and personal success, the stalwart champion of the American capitalism and free market. Its people are the strongest of American patriots, easily translating national patriotism to a corporate phyle. And never mind the democracy thing. Despite some early difficulties resulting from having to adjust to not just managing its staff but governing a phyle’s population, Atlas America has managed to do very well for itself, continuing to lead via a single centralized board of directors. Proving itself as adept in governance as it was in business, it now continues its previous dominance of heavy industry, construction, aerospace and military markets. It is also maintaining a competitive technological position in material and energy, cybernetics, rho-energy, and computing fields. Today Atlas America machinery, vehicles, appliances, and computers are in use across the globe in industrial, commercial and personal applications by almost every phyle. Atlas America is active in space exploration, being the first to send a group of astronauts to permanently colonize Mars (though unknown saboteurs managed to derail that with a successful cyber-attack upon the station’s life-support systems) with the ‘Mars to Stay’ program of 2084. It also one of only a handful of phyla who are engaged in a retooling effort to provide military-grade rho-shielding to their orbital satellites. Militarily, Atlas America is no one’s second, and while not possessing the largest number of active soldiers, its soldiers are perhaps the most highly trained, most cybernetically enhanced, and best equipped in the world. A new program to provide 'gills' to its Navy SEALS is underway and promises new reach for these soldiers. Its airforce is similarly dominant, with an advanced mobile drop infantry program, and so too are its land-based combat drones. Indeed, along with Puszcza Wynd, it is one of only two phyla experimenting with military applications of rho-shielding. In the case of a renewed conventional (3rd generation) war, Atlas America is well positioned for victory. Projects: Amphibious SEALs: 'Atlas America is investing in one of the world's already premier special operative forces by providing them with new amphibious 'water-breathing' treatments ''(incomplete) 'Military rho-shielding: '''Atlas America is experimenting with the miltiary applications of rho-shielding on larger ground and sea-based combat drones and vehicles ''(incomplete) 'Rho-shielded satellites: '''Atlas America satellites are in the process of being upgraded with rho-shielding technology, protecting them from both space debris and damage by hostile weaponry. ''(incomplete) '''Chavis Capital: 'Caracas (10°30′N 66°55′W) '''Population: '''994 million '''Values: '''Hispanic/Latin culture, Socialism, Family, Democracy '''Description: ' These are just loose thoughts on this phyle and should not be considered the official description of these people. I invite you (Azale especially) to develop the phyle considerably. I'm actually really at a loss for what to do with Chavez, or even really explain their history. I want them to have formed as part of a general anti-corporate, anti-capitalist trend that swept the globe in the 2040s-2070s and was particularly violent in North America, China, and parts of sub-Saharan Africa. At the same time i don't want it to have been so violent in South America and Mexico where the people were more solidly in favor of the metamorphosis, especially considering that models of successful transition had already occurred in the US, China, Africa, and some extent (though without the explicit popularist/socialist aspect) in the Muslim Middle East, North Africa, and Southeast Asia. Anyway, the people seized power (or power evolved) and aggregated. Remaining south- and central- American corporate interests united under the banner of the Larrain-Alfa (with territories in much of Pacific Mexico, Colombia, Peru, and Chile). At some point the Amazonians seized much of Brazil's north- especially the Amazonian basin. They were militant environmental fundamentalists in many ways and used intimidation and outright terrorism to push any Chavis influence out of the big jungles and river deltas. And while Chavis could have fought them, and did to some point, they were just way more motivated than other phyles were. Today Chavis is solidly socialist, democratic, slightly conservative-leaning, primarily Hispanic/Latin power of South and Central America. But whats their 'thing'? I don't know. Chavis is perplexing for me. Lei Feng' '''Capital: '''Beijing (39°54′50″N 116°23′30″E) '''Population: ' 1.91 billion Values: '''Chinese culture, Confucianist teachings, Communist collectivism, Militarism, Secrecy '''Description: Lei Feng was the result of a popular uprising in the mid-2060s against the growing influence of corporate and capitalist influence in China. It had its most immediately obvious roots in the Chinese-US trade wars of the 2040s, which greatly empowered a number of corporations and weakened the state as a consequence of nationalizing several very powerful Chinese state companies. Before that however, the real roots might go all the way back to the 1990s and 2000s when China took measures to grow the country through adoption of capitalist, free-market economic models. Regardless of the cause, as the American people overthrew their government, which was increasingly acting like a puppet to American corporate interests, the rebellion spilled across the Pacific and attacks against transnational corporate interests operating in China grew more and more frequent. With the Chinese people under extreme and increasing population and resources pressures themselves, the American cause, as well as similar actions by the Pan-African movement against primarily Chinese corporate interests in that continent, seemed particularly inspiring to the average poor and desperate Chinese worker. Increasingly there were elements within the Chinese Communist Party (communist in name only at this point) to cut out the entirety of the exploitive capitalist, elitist, disenfranchising elements that had diluted and corrupted the Chinese communist dream. When these elements failed to gain official government support amongst the ruling party, they turned to the people. Learning from the failures of the first American revolution in the 2050s and of their successes in the 2060s, the revolutionaries took the time to prepare themselves, coordinating with the increasingly victorious United Socialist Peoples group taking shape in North America and elsewhere. When they struck they did so with much greater precision and sophistication than could have been anticipated, effectively paralyzing much of the corporate conglomerate and official government nooiome security apparatus by ideologically and otherwise subverting much of their cybersoldiers early in the rebellion. By 2068 the rebellion had illustrated the reach of their influence and the popularity of their ideology across the population. Unwilling to fight a major conflict like that in North America, the various parties met and negotiations began. China would be divided, adopting the new phyle systems that seemed to allow for greater personal happiness in an ideologically fragmented and economically, cyberoptically, and even territorially united, global community. Individually, members of the Chinese population were not of one mind vis-à-vis which faction to follow. Many business-friendly elements, including most major corporate conglomerates followed the philosophy of continuing the tradition of moving away from the Communist revolution of the 1940s and 50s, of adopting capitalism and free-trade wholly; it had after all already illustrated its success through the phenomenal growth of Chinese economy between the 1980s and present. They took the name Qeng Ho in honor of the explorer and trader of the 15th century Zheng He. A larger portion of the population, including most of its rural elements and those elements most loyal to the ideology of the Communist party (if not its reality), as well as the majority of its military sought to return to the glorious days of their Communist past- hoping to protect and feed the people and guard them against the inequalities and predation of capitalism. Over the years between 2068 and the present the Lei Feng centrally planned communist ideology has slowly spread throughout the former Soviet states and a huge number of enclaves, their populations remembering their great grandparent’s tales of the ‘good old days’ or else just buying into the ideological model, have developed therein. Today the Lei Feng have revived a Chinese/Soviet style of centrally planned communism and it has proven more successful then most would have thought possible. The technological advances of the 21st century has meant that wide-scale planning and cooperation, and indeed resource sharing central to communism has been much more effective. Lei Feng business operations, due to their scale and efficiency, often command significant portions of the global market. And while there is no ‘upper class’ amongst the Lei Feng and some amenities are at a premium, the vast majority of their population lives in substantially better living conditions than the unaffiliated or the lowest rungs of the corporate or more purely capitalist phyla. Today the Lei Feng have proven themselves the equal of the most technologically adept, even developing their own molecular compiler in Beijing. In addition, their ‘Connected’ project, which tracks all nooiome interface in or near their territories provides huge data of great importance to security. These sets are used to derive algorithms for ‘unexpected’ movement or patterns of nooiome-interfacing nodes and have greatly reduced both petty and organized crime and has several times led to the uncovering of foreign security threats. The Lei Feng military, while not the most advanced in the world, is certainly the largest, and along with that of Atlas America, is the best-suited to fight a prolonged conventional war. Both their navies and airforce are large and well-funded. Projects: Rho-shielded satellites: 'Lei Feng satellites are in the process of being upgraded with rho-shielding technology, protecting them from both space debris and damage by hostile weaponry. ''(incomplete) 'Connected: '''Lei Feng operates several dedicated quantum-enhanced metanodes who's sole function is to track the physical location of the nooiome nodes of all wearables, vehicles, and even exocortex or implanted sensors within their territories (and beyond?). These are fed into databases that track and maintain these datasets, establishing patterns which can be used to determine 'irregular' activity. HIghly respected members of hacker microphyla have repeatedly compared the 'Connected' code to that of the ill-famed 'Deus', in both intention and system, though there is no evidence whatsoever that Conected is in any way sentient. ''(increases police costs, provide counter-inteligence, police benefits) '''Xiǎo Jiàndié: Lei Feng's new project is rumored to involved nanotech but the details are unknown by the public (incomplete) 'Mitsubishi Keiretsu' ' ' Capital: '''Seoul (37°34′0″N 126°58′41″E) '''Population: '''183 million '''Values: Japanese and Korean cultures, Materialism, Corporate coopetition, Hierachy, Secrecy, Commercial dominance of space Description: '''? '''Projects: Dai-17 Lunar Mining Program: 'Support 15 people in a lunar geosynchronous orbit over an H3 rich equatorial position who use local teleoperation to conduct the operation. Four times per year a lunar shuttle picks up fusion reactor fuel and delivers food, fuel, etc. (Increases space budget costs, generates power) 'New Atlantis ' ' Capital: London (51°30′26″N 0°7′39″W)'' (under reconstruction) '' Interm Capital: '''Hong Kong (22.267°N 114.188°E) '''Population: '''453 million '''Values: '''Victorian Anglospheric, Individualism/Elitism, Education, Hierachy, Innovation/Research, Materalism '''Projects: London Reconstruction Project: Rebuilding London after the destruction visted upon their former capital by themselves and their allies in their effort to wrestle London back from the renegade synthetic intelligence Deus. (incomplete) Hong Kong Molecular Compiler: 'The second molecular compiler ever built, and the oldest existing compiler, this football-sized factory system generates a continous stream of products manufactured at a molecular level, with the majority being made from bulk diamond. A dedicated D-H3 fusion reactor generates the requisite power while the Pacific ocean provides the required materials. ''(requires huge amounts of energy, generates nanomanufactured materials) 'New York Molecular Compiler: ' as in Hong Kong (incomeplete) '''Hong Kong Nanite Hive: A command and control system for local nanoscale robotic drones that operate to ensure security of the New Atlantis Hong Kong territory. These nanites prevent unauthorized entry and infuse the bodies of those entering the area, providing continious surveillance within their range. The nanites also provide considerable military protection, being able to intercept and destroy many incoming military threats as needed. (project cost, local military and intelligence advantages) New York Nanite Hive: 'Similar to the Hong Kong Nanite hive but the nanites themselves must be frequently replenished with imports from the Hong Kong compiler. ''(project cost, local military and intelligence advantages) '''Pambazuka ' Capital: '''Kinshasa (4°19′30″S 15°19′20″E) '''Popluation: '''836 million '''Values: '''African culture, Family, Education, Democracy Pan-Africanism '''Description: '''One of the oldest phyles '''Projects: ' Swarm MAVs: Pambazuka has developed technologies for, and completed production of, military and espionage-grade micro-air vehicles- effectively insect sized drones. These minute drones are 1 or 2 centimeters in length at maximum and operate either alone, in small groups, or in swarms. They are capable of surveillance, feeding sensor assisting in situational awareness and command and control, communications disruption (through a variety of jamming and hacking capabilities) and even direct engagement (through delivery of single-use kinetic weapons, bioweapons, or toxins delivery). Because of their small size and stealth materials, they are very difficult to detect. At the same time, they have relatively short range and must be delivered to a target area by larger drones or aircraft. (police, intelligence and military applications, project costs) Automated cloud seeding aerial drones: Pambazuka operates a network of mostly autonomous, high-altitude, void-aircraft drones which seed clouds over the Nabib and Karoo desert regions in southern Africa. These, in combination with genengineered sedum-based plants and aggressive irrigation systems have prevented the growth of these drylands in the face of climate-changed induced droughts and allowed for more extensive farming than would otherwise be possible (project cost, increased agricultural output) 'Puszcza Wynd' ' ' Capital: Poznań (52°24′N 16°55′E) Population: 215 million Values: Innovation/Research, Environmentalism, Cultural progressivism, Corporate coopetition, Oceanic exploration and colonization Description: '''historical ties to poland but with strong america interests '''Projects: Military rho-shielding: Puszcza Wynd is is experimenting with the miltiary applications of rho-shielding on larger ground and sea-based combat drones and vehicles (incomplete) Rho-shielded satellites: 'Puszcza Wynd satellites are almost universally upgraded with rho-shielding technology, protecting them from both space debris and damage by hostile weaponry. ''(hardened satellite communications and control) 'Niebieski Zmartwienia: '''Puszcza Wynd operates a series of underwater colonies, called 'Blue Worries', near the Azores. Together they provide a home to over 640 undersea colonists. Generating power from a local fusion nuclear plant and electrolyzing water for oxygen, the colonies grow their own food and are nearly self-suficient. ''(project cost, increased research, cheaper naval development) '''Qeng Ho Capital: '''Shanghai (31°12′N 121°30′E) '''Population: '''784 million '''Values: '''Free-market capitalism, Adaptability, Cultural progressivism, Decentralization '''Description: '''Chinese, Traders '''Projects: Pham Nuwen: 'Lunar mining colony projected to complete in 2076. Once complete Pham Nuwen will allow the permanent habitation of 22 lunar colonists at the lunar north pole, the growth of domestic foods, the production of domestic energy, and homeostatic local atmosphere. ''(incomplete) '''Shengen Capital: Brussels (50°51′0″N 4°21′0″E) Population: 613 million Values: Cultural Conservationalism/Inclusion, Democracy, Decentralization, Free speech/free media Desription: '''Derived from the EU. '''Proejcts: Rho-shielded satellites: 'Shengen satellites are in the process of being upgraded with rho-shielding technology, protecting them from both space debris and damage by hostile weaponry. ''(incomplete) '''Ummah Al Salaam ' ' Capital: '''Beirut (33°53′13″N 35°30′47″E) '''Population: '''1.15 billion '''Values: Progressive Islam, Inclusiveness, Counter-nationalist revolutionism, Democracy, Charity Description: '''Islamic, United (Sunni/Shia) though primarily Sunni, Modernists '''Projects: Rho-shielded satellites:'' Ummah Al Salaam satellites are in the process of being upgraded with rho-shielding technology, protecting them from both space debris and damage by hostile weaponry. ''(incomplete) Trance Soldiers and Pilots: Ummah Al Salaam soldiers are now being trained to master a whole new level of discipline. Using their highly religious focus the UAS have begun to train pilots and soldiers on how to enter a new zen like state to help increase their combat abilities. (incomplete) 'United Socialist Peoples' Capital: Washington (38°53′42.4″N 77°02′12.0″W) Population: 847 million Values: Counter-capitalist revolutionism, Social justice, Social collectivism, Economic socialism, Democracy Primarily north american Projects: Universal Gerontological Treatment: ' Totalling tens of thousands of clinics, and millions of technicians, geneticists, molecular biologists and nurses, this project was begun in 2084 and aims to complete in 2100. At that time every man and women of the phyle 22 years or older will have recieved the longevity treatment, greatly reducing their rate of aging and prolonging their life. Of course, after that date, the aging youth will still need to be treated and so too will any immigrants. There is also increasing evidence that the treatment is not permanent and those who have been treated once will need to be treated again as the aging process rekindles. ''(project costs, increased stability, an immortal population?) '''AA and A-rated Phyla 'Al-Dawlah Al-Islamīyah (A)' Population: 7.7 million Descenent of the militant Sunni Islamic pan-national organizations of the early and mid-twentieth century, they have, since the 2020s steadily lost ground to the Ummah Al Salaam's appeal. The Al-Dawlah consider the Ummah Al Salaam to be heretics who pick and choose from the Koran and Hadiths, ignoring the conservative teachings to gain recognition with the rest of the world. Despite being hated by much of the world for their particularly violent and anti-modernist interpretation of Islam, as well as their increasingly infrequent attacks upon the population of almost all factions, they have, over the decades, retained a dedicated core of believers who maintain their interpretation of Islam is the only correct one. ASEAN (AA) Population: 171 million Descendents of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations. Much reduced in membership as individuals flock to Qeng Ho or Ummah Al Salaam, the organization itself is much enriched by the dissolution of its member nation-states and the incorporation of their governance structures into the ASEAN phyle. California (AA) Population: 132 million Formed during the American class wars of the early 2060s, California had sufficient cultural identity and economic stability to form its own phyle. Catholic Church (A) Population: 54.3 million Still very influential, the Roman Catholic Church has had to compromise with many progressive and modernist realiities but none-the-less remains a bulwark of traditional values. It possesses significant territorial rights throughout Africa, as individuals and organizations gifted their lands to the Church during the dissolution of African nation states. Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints (A) Population: 22.9 million With dissolution of the many nation state governments, Mormons suddenly found themselves re-embroiled in a long-simmering though previously private discussion regarding the teachings of Joseph Smith and Brigham Young and plural marriage. Ultimately after a major schism that saw much of the Church divided upon itself, the pluralists (calling themselves the tradition) won out over the monogamists who were cast as a necessary face of compromise in a time when government would have destroyed the church if it was openly true to its founders. Communalist Confederacy (A) Population: 70.9 million Largely decentralized, participatory communes practice a high degree of autonomy and self-sufficiency. Embracing communalist rules of property, the the communities advocate and practice a stateless, classless, decentralized society led by a network of directly democratic citizens’ assemblies. Anti-capitalist, the phyle espouses an economically rational society wherein all goods are designed and manufactured for the society as a whole and where needs are guided by rational and ecological standard. Previous philosophies of “grow or die” are replaced with notions of limit and balance. Israel (A) Population: 7.49 million Despite a capital in Jerusalem and a style of governance and administration little changed from its time as a nation-state, the reorganized phyle of Israel has grown to include much of the pro-zionist Jewish diaspora throughout the world. Despite having withdrawn to its 1967 borders, Israel's growth from a small territory to a diasporic postnational phyle has allowed for new forms of economic growth and cultural development. With the unification, growth, and international popularity of the Umma Al Salaam, along with the failure of its greatest patrons, Israel has long lost its technological and military superiority over its neighbors. Despite a trying history with its neighbors however, Israel today maintains fair relations with the Ummah Al Salaam though the Al-Dawlah Al-Islamīyah has sworn to destroy the Jewish state. Larrain-Alfa (AA) Population: 315 million Descendent of the so-called Pacific Alliance, the free trade bloc between Chile, Colombia, Mexico and Peru that was first outlined in the April 2011 Lima Declaration and officially established in June 2012, they are today the voice of Latin American corporate capitalism. Today they are a corporate confederacy and the champions of free-market capitalism in an otherwise solidly socialist region. Mondragon (AA) Population: 16.8 million Capital: Mondrag'o'''n (43°04'N 2°29'W) Corporate federation of worker cooperatives, *based on 10 basic co-operative principles: open admission, democratic organization, sovereignty of labour, instrumental and subordinate nature of capital, participatory management, payment solidarity, inter-cooperation, social transformation, university and education. *and complemented by the four corporate values: co-operation, acting as owners and protagonists; participation, which takes shape as a commitment to management; social responsibility, by means of the distribution of wealth based on solidarity; and innovation, focusing on constant renewal in all areas. * Nordic Conglom (AA) Population: 34.2 million Capital: Yggdrasil (formerly Reykjavik then New Reykjavik) Values: Direct democracy, Communalism, Open source, Norse culture, Human transcendence (not-so small minority) Government: Direct Democracy Prime Deputy of the People: Bjorn Haraalda '''History' In the wake of the Sino-American trade wars of 2041, the European Union experienced considerable growth as the Euro became the de facto global reserve currency. In the wake of generations of social programs and well established social infrastructure, it did not suffer much of the economic depression arising from corporate conglomerates that much of the remaining world did. As the middle class dropped out in the Americas and Asia, Europe looked increasingly stable. Much of Scandinavia shared in this prosperity, with European Union funding for renewable energy development and Arctic passage exploration being particularly lucrative. Internal funding focused on the high-tech sector with a particularly heavy push into optical computing and mediated reality software. Global climate change had meant relatively little to the Scandinavians. The seas grew warmer. The winters colder and longer, the brief summers much warmer. But in 2064 a series of earthquakes, thought be caused by a underwater mudslide caused a gargantuan tsunami wave to ravage the Nordic coastlines. The results were particularly devastating to the myriad coastal villages of the Scandanavian coast. Sheer disorder ensued as the Scandinavians tried to rebuild after the catastrophe. Meanwhile Axa-Allianz (the rising superstar of European corporate conglomeration) offered to rebuild Reykjavik- on its own terms. Desperate, Iceland accepted, hoping for a renewal. In the wake of the earthquake and what many perceived as EU-sponsored corporate opportunism, a number of academics, ideologues, and politicians began to argue for the reorganization of Scandinavian communities as their own phyle, something different from the EU, based more on direct democratic involvement, communalism, and Nordic culture. Meanwhile, under Axa-Allianz influence, New Reykjavik was undergoing profound transformation. The conglomerate had built a huge geothermal power grid to fuel its computing research facility and the new high tech city saw its population grow to millions. The Nordic communities, in 2069, officially drew up a their charter and reorganized themselves as a phyle, making known their intention to register with Consensus as soon as possible. For the EU, the defection was demoralizing. There was talk of the EU reorganizing as a phyle, much like the Indians and Israelis did, but there was also fear that the English would not join them and indeed that a growing portion of eastern Europe would not either. And finally there was Axa-Allianz, who were suspected of wanting to establish their own corporate phyle similar to Atlas America or Larrain-Alfa Pacific Alliance. As these fears and doubts became increasingly real threats, and as famed European stability began to disintegrate, the Nordic communities made their move, sabotaging Axa-Allianz efforts in Reykjavik and seizing their assets there. The move was short-sighted however as the European conglomerate had extensive military assets and very shortly seized control of, and occupied, a wide part of the newly recovered Scandinavian coastline and its myriad communalist communities. The EU stepped in offering to arbitrate, and this they did in conjunction with the Consensus. Reykjavik would be partitioned between the Scandinavians and the Axa-Allianz. In compensation for the Nordic aggression and gains in the city, Axa-Allianz, who were increasingly interested in polar methyl hydrates and gene mining in the arctic, would receive significant coastal territories in distant portions of Scandinavia. For the Nordic Conglom, as they were to be known, the decision was greeted as a victory (though some insisted this interpretation was more a function of PR spin than an actual negotiated win). In the 2070s two great projects were launched simultaneously: *The expansion and remodeling of New Reykjavik as Yggdrasil/ NC 9Core. It would include the construction of 6 new power stations (9 total), the automation of all public works, gargantuan servers, and its general transformation into one the world's largest arcologies. A large immigrant influx meant the city’s population neared 12 million *NORSEnet. A immense mindnet, linking the exocortexes of millions of citizens, allowing for real time voting and complex nation wide democratic decision making. It has became fundamental to the NC's system of “government” and direct, shared, decision-making. Culture and society The NC devoted itself firstly to direct participaptory democracy and to Nordic culture. Increasingly however, its tech-savy population were happy to explore issues of human transcendence and this attracted other, similarly interested peoples until ‘ascendance/transcendence’ became a sort of bi-line for the Nordic Conglom. The issue remains divisive- with much of the population embracing Nordic culture as its primary unifying ideology and many embracing ascendance/transcendence as its unifying ideology. On many occasions the phyle has threatened to split but for now, remains united. Economy The NC economy is funded upon an open source, contributive model. Property both material and intellectual was abolished. Production occurs primarily through Politics Military The NC military is directed by Concerns (as evrything having to do with security) and is divided between the Peoples' Militia and Nord Guard . The supreme commander of the entire military is the current Prime Deputy Québec (AA) Population: 15.1 million With energy wealth and unique cultural identity enough to not only survive Canada's dissolution but to prosper from it, the Québecois have proven agile players on the post-national stage, turning their energy-wealth into significant political and diplomatic power. Persia (A) Population: 255 million A religiously cosmopolitan state formed from the rump of Iran after the fall of the theocratic Iranian government, it is united under a common Persian identity and has seen a resurgence of Zorastrianism, Manichaeism, and Bahá’í faithful. Persia was instrumental in recognizing Kurdish culture and identity as separate from the vision espoused by the Ummah Al Salaam and today the Persian phyle contains a significant Kurdish minority wielding considerable influence in phyle politics. Purity (A) Population: 8.58 million Capital: Holmes County (40°56’N 81°93’W) A collection of religious and secular ideologists who eschew any use of cybernetics or gengineering, minimize their use of computing, and otherwise reject modern technology. While for most of the world's population, the ancient debate between gaining a bit more control over our bodies and environment at the cost of losing a tiny bit of a different sort of control over our bodies and environment is long past, for the purists, the debate is far from lost. There can be no compromise regarding self and humanity. Rus (AA) Population: 314 million Values: Slavic culture, family, education, Orthodoxy, Exploration and Commercialization of Space modern descendant of the old Russian oligarchs. ''' Scotland (A) '''Population: 16.5 million Independent Scotland. ''' '''Increasingly backwards and both culturally and economically stagnant Zen-Serotonin (A) Population: 15 million Originally a small 'cultish' group formed from Buddhist monks, Zen-Serotonin embraced exocortex technology and used it to obtain very fine biofeedback control over meditation. They soon learned to use the technology, along with meditation, to maintain a zen-like calm and detachment at all times. Zen-Serotonin has gained considerable traction on the world stage as its membership has ballooned in the last two decades although many are quick to call them cultists. 'B and C -class Phyla' The B and C -class phyla adhere to more specialized ideologies, religions, cultural affiliations, or simply command smaller market share. In some cases they consist of city-states like those of antiquity. 'D- class: Microphyla' Below the Cs are the microphyla, independent companies, smallish cults, secretive organizations that are routinely the source of so much unexpected chaos and even trouble. 'The Unaffiliated' And below these are the unaffiliated, the truly poor and destitute who often scrounge at the edges of the more successful phyla, looking for a day’s work while suffering from diseases and ailments that phyle members simply don’t suffer from, things like colds and diarrhea, or that inexcusable affront to the well-to-do: ugliness.